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COVID Cases In US Top 100,000 Per Day For First Time Since February

(Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have topped an average of greater than 100,000 per day for the first time since February.

The daily case rate has not exceeded the levels of summer 2020 when vaccines were not available, however, the seven-day average of hospital admissions has reached levels that are 40% higher than last week, the Guardian reported. The increases have caused government and health officials to raise concerns over the delta variant across the U.S. (RELATED: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Reach Record Numbers In Florida)

“Across the board, we are seeing increases in cases and hospitalizations in all age groups,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said this week during the White House’s COVID-19 briefing.

Seven states with the lowest vaccination rates were allegedly responsible for the surges this week, said Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response chief.

“Vaccinations are the very best line of defense against COVID and the Delta variant, and we’re doing everything we can to keep getting shots in arms,” Zients said.

People in Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi make up close to half of all new COVID cases and hospitalizations, according to Zients. These states make up slightly less than 25% of the country’s population.

Zients also claimed that concerns over the delta variant have led to “significant increases” in people getting COVID vaccinations.

“Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi are now vaccinating people at a pace not seen since April,” Zients said.